


It's all Borrowed Time

by HeyItsEm (MrsHalstead_Soffer)



Category: The Rookie (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Major Character Injury, Tucy, chenford
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:56:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29664864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsHalstead_Soffer/pseuds/HeyItsEm
Summary: When Tim Bradford preforms a routine traffic stop, it turns out to be anything but routine.ORNightshift at the Mid-Wilshire division of the LAPD is anything but boring.
Relationships: Tim Bradford & Lucy Chen, Tim Bradford/Lucy Chen
Comments: 6
Kudos: 121





	It's all Borrowed Time

**Author's Note:**

> Buckle in ladies and gents, it's gonna be one hell of a ride. Let me know what you think! :)

Tim Bradford’s night had started out like most others, the nightlife of the city coming to life as the sun set. The Mid-Wilshire division of the LAPD, like countless other departments has its fair share of regulars that would be brought in often. And as the Sergeant of the nightshift, he knew most of them by name.

“Good evening Carmella.” He said to the woman that was standing scantily clad at the counter, waiting to be booked.

The woman smirked. “Sergeant Bradford. Don’t you ever take a day off?”

Tim rolled his eyes. “What’d you do this time?”

“Some asshat refused to pay so, I gave him the special and the man had the nerve to call the cops on me!”

“So, assault and battery?”

“He had it coming! He was too handsy anyways.”

Tim turned his body, talking to the officer at the counter. “Make sure you get Alex down here to search her.” He instructed before his eyes glanced over the three holding cells, noticing the familiar figure sleeping on the bench. “Is that Rambling Randy?”

The officer nodded. “Yeah, they picked him up off Cornerstone about an hour ago.”

“Damn, I thought he would stay sober this time.”

“Today’s the anniversary.”

Tim nodded in understanding. “Get him sober and cut him loose. I’m laying off the paperwork for a few, heading out on the beat. Be back in an hour.”

He left holding, making his way to pick up a war bag and the camera for his vest, attaching it to its clip before grabbing a keyring off one of the small hooks on the wall, making his way out the side door that connected to the garage that held the shops.

Tim had been driving the streets, stopping at a drive-thru to grab a late-night snack, the traffic on the radio strangely quiet for a Saturday night but he was not one to question the rare night that the gods above had gifted them, and never one to stir the proverbial black kettle that held what could be brewing.

He kept the FM radio in the shop low, his thumb tapping the steering wheel to the low beat of a song he had not heard in years, as he kept a look out of his surroundings for anything that might warrant being investigated. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, he found himself sitting behind a car at a red light, his left hand on the wheel as the fingers of his right hand punched in the tag of the car in front of him, running the metal plate through the system.

“Stolen.” He muttered under his breath as the hit came back, his right hand reached forward, grabbing the mic off the dash. “7-Adam-19 to dispatch, show me out, 10851 with a red in color Nissan Altima at the corner of Reef and Franklin, license plate number 8-Bravo-Lima-5-8-Victor-1. Requesting backup at my 20.”

‘ _Dispatch show 07 attached to 19’s traffic, be there in two_.’ came Nyla Harper’s voice over his radio.

Tim flipped the switch on the center console, lighting the car up as the red light switched to green. The car staying motionless, the driver’s foot still on the break as Tim hit the button for one of the squall sirens.

He let out a heavy sigh, rolling his eyes as he threw the shop into park, opening the door to step out of the car to tell the driver to move the car to a safer location, his right hand immediately settling on his gun. He never got the door of the shop closed when the driver of the car stepped out. Tim flung his body back behind the reenforced door, drawing his gun, positioning it in the opening between the door and the body of the car. “Driver! Return to your vehicle.”

Tim could see the person brandishing the weapon in his hand, raising the gun before Tim had the chance to control the situation. The rapid succession of nine shots echoed off the surrounding brick and block buildings as Tim returned fire, bullets ejecting to his right, empty brass hitting the pavement as he fired continuous rounds, the driver retreating to their car.

He wanted to pursue, but as he made the move to climb into the shop intense pain overtook him as he gritted his teeth, his body falling in slow motion as he harshly hit the asphalt below, the sound of a car door slamming and tires squealing ahead reverberated in his skull as nonstop pain began coursing through his body over the adrenaline and shock. Tim could feel the pain blossoming from different parts of his upper body as he held a shaking left hand to the pit of his right arm, applying pressure, blood spewing from his mouth, trailing down his chin as he felt the strong urge to cough. He held his hand to his side as he forced himself to pull his body towards the back tire of the shop, groaning at the movement. He let go of wound, bloody fingers reaching for the handheld on his waist, his finger slipping as he pressed the button on the side.

“19. Shots fired. Officer down.” He said into the radio, gasping for air as he let it fall out of his hand. He ran his hand over his forehead, his fingers feeling something slick, as his heart began beating as though it was about to burst through his chest, bringing his fingers to the front of his face, focusing his eyes on the dark red liquid. He began mumbling to himself, the taste of copper slicking his lips. He knew he needed to keep pressure on at least one of the wounds, opting for the more severe of the two wounds he knew of, moving his left hand back to his right side, the distant sounds of fast paced voices coming from the handheld swirled in his head making him dizzy.

“Bradford!” he heard a voice yell as someone shook his shoulders, slapping his face before intense pressure on his right side made him cry out in pain. “He’s lost a lot of blood, in and out of consciousness.”

“Where’s the damn ambulance! Come on Tim, stay with me!”

Tim groaned as the pain and blood loss became too much, his mind slipping into unconsciousness.

\----

Lucy Chen had called it an early evening after having what was a rough day. The calls were endless and the people problematic. When she walked through her apartment door at twenty minutes after six that evening, she had already ordered takeout, not in the mood to fix the tacos she had planned. She poured herself a large glass of red wine before the food was delivered and ate the meal in peace, all the while watching trashy yet entertaining reality television.

Once finished with her takeout, she placed the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, locked up the apartment and padded to her bathroom, throwing in a bath bomb and bubble bath into the tub, filling the bathtub with hot water, willing herself to relax and let go as she soaked. When the water began turning cold and her fingers welted into prunes, she pulled the plug, letting the water out as she stepped out and dried off, going about her nightly routine.

Lucy threw the covers back before climbing into bed, laying her head down on her pillow, throwing the thin covering and weighted blanket over her body as she settled in for night. She checked her phone once more, sending off a few text messages before she placed the charging phone back onto the nightstand. She fluffed and adjusted her pillows one more time, before she closed her eyes and got comfortable.

She jolted awake, feeling like she had just fallen asleep as she looked for what woke her. The constant buzzing of her phone on the nightstand making her groan as the noise stopped before it started vibrating again. Her heart raced as she fumbled for the phone, not looking at the caller as she threw back the covers.

“Chen.” She sleepily answered.

Jackson West hesitated before speaking from the other end. “Lucy…”

“What happened?” she asked as she stood, holding the phone between her ear and shoulder as she reached for the pants at the foot of the bed.

“It’s Bradford.” He said before clearing his throat. “He’s been shot.”

Lucy stopped in her tracks, her pants pulled up around her knees, her phone slipping from its hold, falling to the plush carpet as her heart stopped in her chest.

She couldn’t have heard him right. Her hand shook as she bent over, picking up the device.

“Lucy! Lucy, are you there?”

“Jackson?”

“Lucy, I’m on my way to pick you up.”

Lucy felt her bottom lip tremble. “How bad?” she whispered, quickly continuing her mission of getting dressed with shaky hands.

The other end of the phone was silent as Jackson thought of what to tell her. He had been on scene, only as they were loading him into the back of an ambulance.

“It’s not looking good.” He decided on the truth as he pulled his shop into the parking lot for their apartment.

“Fuck.” Cursed Lucy as she hung up the phone, sliding the device into her pants pocket. She tried to hold back her emotions, her body trembling at the overwhelming need to cry, as sobs began wracking her body. She never heard Jackson enter the apartment, his voice echoing off the walls as he quickly ran to his roommate’s room.

“Lucy. Lucy come on, we’ll head to the hospital.” He said as he walked over to the bed. Lucy got to her feet, wiping the tears away with the back of her hand before she moved to the corner of the room, grabbing a pair of slip-ons, sliding them onto her feet.

The two quickly made their way back outside, jumping back into Jackson’s waiting shop.

“What happened?” she asked sniffling as she chastised herself, _‘You’ve had your sob fest Lucy now it’s time to suck it up.’_

Jackson steered the car out of the lot, flipping the switch for the lights. ‘ _Rules and regulations be damned.’_ He thought as he cautiously went through a red light, checking both ways as he proceeded through.

“He ran a plate at a stop light and it came back stolen, requested back-up, Nyla checked in but was two minutes out. Next thing we know he was screaming over the radio that shots had been fired and he was down.”

“And the person that shot him?”

“Ran. I’m sorry Lucy, they’ve put out a BOLO and everything.” He said as he flipped the top of his laptop up, punching in his login.

Lucy turned the console towards her, scrolling through the list of active calls, finding the script of the BOLO being broadcasted throughout Los Angeles and the surrounding counties. She read it over, taking in all the details that she could as Jackson got them to the hospital.

“He’s going to be ok Lucy.”

She did not know why Jackson was trying to convince herself of that. They were just friends, close friends, her former training officer, but nothing more. Though, it was _Tim_ , the most strong-willed person she knew. Lucy kept her thoughts to herself, knowing if she opened her mouth, something she didn’t want to admit may force its way out and that was something she could not handle at the time.

Instead, she looked out the windshield, watching as everything outside passed by in a blur before she found the car being turned into the ambulance bay of the hospital, Lucy opening her door before Jackson had the chance to put the shop into park. She ran through the automatic doors, straight to the admittance desk.

“Sergeant Tim Bradford, he was brought in with multiple GSWs.”

The nurse behind the desk briefly glanced at Lucy before returning to the chart in her hand.

“You’ll have to wait in the waiting room Miss.”

Lucy’s mouth opened in disbelief before coming up with a lie on the spot as Jackson joined her side. “He’s my former partner and fiancée, please.”

The woman looked at her with sympathy as she stood up from the desk, walking out from behind. “Ms.?”

“Chen. Lucy Chen.”

“Ms. Chen, you can wait in the surgical waiting room on the third floor, but I cannot let you see him, they’ve already got him prepped and being moved.”

“He’s being taken to surgery?”

“Yes. If you will give me just a second, I can contact Dr. Follari and let his scrub nurse know that you’re here, hopefully one of them can tell you more about his injuries before they begin.”

Lucy nodded in appreciation. “Thank you.”

“Why don’t you two round up the others and head on up there, I will make sure they know you’re here.” She said as she picked up the phone on the desk.

Lucy made her way to the elevators down the hall as Jackson rounded up Nyla and the other officers who escorted the ambulance in.

The officer made it to the waiting area, pacing a trail in front of the secure wooden doors that led to the operating rooms, her pacing coming to a halt as the doors opened.

“Ms. Chen? I’m Tiffany Higdon, Dr. Follari’s scrub nurse. Would you care to sit?” the woman dressed in green scrubs, a mask hanging from around her neck and a light blue surgical cap covering her head asked, extending a hand towards the row of empty chairs.

“I don’t think I can sit right now.”

“Understandable. I will try to come out and give updates when I can, but Sergeant Bradford is facing a very long couple of hours.”

“What are his injuries?”

“He was shot three times. His vest caught one of the bullets, X-ray showed two cracked ribs on his lower right side. Another one grazed the side of his head, luckily, he just needed stitches for that one. But the one of most concern missed his vest, striking him in the upper right quadrant, just below his armpit. While treating him in the field they found that the bullet had stuck his lung, causing it to collapse, they inserted a chest tube before stabilizing him for transport. But when he went through the CAT scan, we found it also hit is spleen and a small part of his intestines.”

“Ok.” Lucy whispered. “And his chances?”

“Are promising. Dr. Follari is doing everything he can for your fiancée Ms. Chen.”

“How long they expecting the surgery to take?” Nyla asked from Lucy’s left side, Lucy giving the senior officer an appreciate nod.

“Three to four hours, give or take. Once he is stable and sewed up, we will move him to the ICU for a few days to monitor his healing and if he shows improvement then we will move him to a normal room.”

“How long till he’s back in the field? He’ll be wanting up and out as soon as he wakes up.”

“That all depends on him and Dr. Follari. I’ve seen patients recover from these injuries in four months or take three times as long. I’m no doctor but if he is that dedicated, I would say Sergeant Bradford could return to desk duty in fourteen to sixteen weeks. Now, I really must get back unless you have any other questions?” informed the scrub nurse.

“Not right now, no.”

“I’ll try to come back and give you an update when were halfway through and Dr. Follari always keeps his patients families update after the surgery and moving forward. If anyone was to work on my husband, I would want him.”

Lucy nodded her head as the nurse scanned her card for re-entry. Taking in a shaky breath before turning around to face her brothers and sisters in blue.

“Chen!” Yelled Angela Lopez as she stepped off the elevator, pushing past the others in the hall. “I got here as soon as I heard. Tim, is he ok?”

Lucy stared ahead, “No.”

Angela’s tear-filled eyes grew wide. “He’s not de-“

“No.” she said quietly. “He’s- he’s in surgery. It’s not- it doesn’t-“

“How’d you find this out? Normally they only talk to family.”

Lucy laughed somberly as she shrugged. “I lied and told them I was his fiancée. I mean we are his family, the only family he’s got.”

“He’ll be fine. He is Tim Bradford after all.” Nyla told the small group in confidence. “Come on West, we’re still on duty and someone out there has to track down the son of a bitch.”

Angela, Nyla and Jackson exchanged a look before the two still on duty made their way to the elevator. Lucy fell back into one of the vinyl navy chairs that sat around the room.

“How bad is it Lucy?” Angela asked, taking a seat next to her friend.

“He took three hits. One caught his vest, another grazed his head and the last… they said it hit his lung, among other things.”

“Damn.”

“Recovery is a minimum of four months which he is going to love.” She said, rolling her eyes.

The two sat in the uncomfortable chairs, Lucy asking about Angela’s baby, both the women talking about things happening in the department when Captain Wade Grey stepped off the elevator in his plain clothes, walking into the waiting room. Both women stood up as the commanding officer spoke.

“Has anyone spoken to the doctor?”

“No sir, the scrub nurse came right after they took him back.”

“What are his injuries?”

Lucy relayed to him the extent of her former training officers’ injuries and likely recover time, the Captain cursing under his breath.

“Bradford managed to fire off twelve rounds, based on the casings found by his shop. Unclear, if he hit the person but no one has showed up at any of the hospitals. Detectives have taken the dash cam footage and were on their way here to get his body camera.”

“Good. That’s good right?”

“It would be if the car wasn’t reported stolen and they weren’t in gang territory. Odds are the car’s been ditched somewhere or at a chop shop and the shooter will remain at large.”

“But it might not be gang related.”

Angela spoke up. “Once we review the footage from both cameras, then we can get a better idea of who and build a portfolio for another BOLO.”

They sat in silence, time passing as the occasional call over the intercom and noise from down the hall made its way to where they sat. Angela had just stood, asking if anyone wanted something to drink when the ringing of Captain Grey’s phone echoed through the room.

“Grey. Understood, I’m on my way.” He said into his phone, standing. “That was Detective Hall, there’s been a GSW matching the description of our shooter show up at Shaw Memorial. It may be nothing.”

Lucy’s pulse quickened. “Or it could be something.”

Wade nodded. “I’m going to go check in to it. Detective Lopez, keep me updated?”

“Yes sir.”

Six hours later Tim was stitched and sewed, laying on a hospital bed in the intensive care unit. Lucy had left the room to grab something to eat and drink from the store in the cafeteria, leaving Angela to sit at his bedside.

“You better be ok Bradford.” She said, talking to the unconscious man. “If not for me, then for her.”

Angela took in the things she could see, the bandage on the side of his head, covering his new scar, his hair cut to military precision. The paleness of his skin and dark bags under his eyes, contrasting each other. The machinery causing various noises, the heart monitor consistently beeping, showing signs of life, the ventilator running oxygen from the machine to his lungs via the tube secured to his face.

“You’ve never been hurt this bad and it scares the shit out of me. But you’re Tim and _you will_ get through this.”

Angela sat at his bedside, talking about the most random of things, when an alarm went off, the Detective noticing the heartrate on the monitor spiking. Two nurses came running into the room as she jumped to her feet, moving out of the way.

“Tim? Bradford, can you hear me?”

Tim could hear a familiar voice speak through the thick fog he had in his head, the voice he knew to be so calm was anything but as it sounded miles away. He so desperately wanted to speak but before he could try, he felt himself unable to fight to stay awake as he was pulled back under.

Angela felt hopeless as she stood back against the wall, watching the two nurses that had rushed in as they adjusted the pump attached to the IV pole and checked his vitals.

“He’s showing signs of coming around, but Dr. Follari wants to leave him on life support for the rest of the day to give his lungs more time to adjust. We will continue to keep him sedated but we should be able to take him off the machine tomorrow.”

“And being on life support, he’s ok?”

The nurse smiled. “He is, his vitals are fine, the machine is just taking some stress off his body.”

Angela nodded as Lucy walked back in holding two coffees, immediately noticing the two nurses. “Everything ok?”

“Yeah, they were just checking his vitals.”

Lucy gave her a dubious look as she handed over one of the coffees but said nothing as she sat down in the window, watching the glow of the city below as the night began to turn to day.

They took turns, making sure someone was _always_ there, whether it was sitting by his bed filling out reports, feeding a baby, scrolling through social media, or playing cards, the shifts would alternate between the close group of friends. Jackson and Nyla both came in after shift the morning after. Jackson dragging a struggling Lucy away for a few hours of sleep at their apartment as Nyla pushed Angela out the door to go check on her baby. Angela came back later that afternoon, a baby in tow until John relieved her that evening. Jackson bringing back a partially refreshed Lucy, releasing John to go on shift, as the two roommates stayed the night.

The next morning Dr. Follari came by for his morning rounds, checking on who he liked to call his ‘most stubborn patient’, the good doctor having checked in on them several times day over the past forty-eight hours.

“I think he’s ready to come off life support.” He said as he pulled his stethoscope away and checked the bandage on his side. “We’ve gradually been decreasing the sedative and he’s responding well.”

Lucy smiled as they removed the tube from down his throat, moving his bed from the reclined position he had been in to more of an incline position, sitting him up.

“It will be a few hours before he comes around, even then it will likely be short-term as his body begins to readjust from being under for so long. In the meantime, we will move him out of the ICU and to another room.”

Lucy quickly sent out a message on the group text as the Doctor walked out of the room, keeping the ones not present aware of the good news. The group of officers unanimously making the decision to gather tonight, even if it was only for a few minutes as to not overwhelm their friend.

Tim did come around for a minute, enough to inconspicuously take in his surroundings before deciding it was _safe,_ falling back asleep.

The rest of the day moved by at a snail’s pace, two orderly’s moving Tim down a floor, to a new room as Lucy and Jackson quickly gathered all the odds and ends in Tim’s old room, transferring the belongings that had made their way into the hospital.

“Rummy on the board!” Lucy yelled, gloating as John pouted. She pulled the card out of the discard pile, placing it with her matches. “Looks like you might need to get a pair of focals old man. Don’t worry my dad has to wear them too.”

“That’s not fair Lucy. You can’t call rummy when I haven’t laid down a card!”

“Life’s not fair Nolan.” Nyla said from her spot in the window, where she sat scrolling through her phone.

“You’re just taking her side because she paid for lunch.” Pointed out John.

“Touché.”

Lucy’s mouth fell open in shock. “See if I buy you two lunch again.”

They both shrugged as Angela and Wesley walked through the door, one carrying grocery bags of takeout, the other a baby carrier, Jackson following close behind.

“What’d we miss?” Angela asked, setting the carrier down onto the bed, careful not to hit Tim’s leg.

“About ten hands of Rummy. Did you bring food?”

“In the bag. Who won?”

“Chen beat Nolan seven out of ten, though she cheated, she always does.” A scratchy voice spoke from the bed. “Oh, and Harper is a sore loser.”

“Am not!” she defended.

Tim cracked an eye open. “You quit after three hands.”

Nyla glared before breaking out into a grin.

“So, who died?” he asked, opening both eyes, looking around the room. Everyone around the room let out a chuckle at his attempt at humor in the situation, Wesley handing him a cup of water which he greedily took, taking sips of the cold liquid. “No seriously, someone fill me in here cause everything up here,” he said grimacing as he attempted to lift his right arm, failing to do so. “up there, is a little foggy.”

“What do you remember?” Angela asked, removing the sleeping infant from their carrier, placing the child on her shoulder as Jackson began digging into the takeout bags of food, divvying everyone their order.

Tim closed his eyes, trying to push away the fog that still lingered. “Traffic stop. Suspect wasn’t moving the car out of the road after I lit them up so, I got out to see what the holdup was.” He recalled, before opening his eyes. “It all happened fast.”

“Don’t try to remember right now, you’ve got time. Hall will be by in the morning to take your statement.”

“Have they at least caught the guy?”

Angela smiled. “They did, this morning. _Someone_ almost hit him with the shop.”

The group turned, looking at Nyla who shrugged. “He was running away and well, driving is faster.”

“Thanks Harper.” He nodded, a bad move he realized, grimacing once again, this time at the uncomfortable twinge of skin coming from above his right ear. “So, how bad did they slice and dice me?”

“Three hits.” Lucy softly spoke from the side of the bed. “Vest took one, gave you some cracked ribs. Head took a graze, you have sixteen stiches above your right ear and a new haircut. The worst missed your vest, hitting your lung and spleen.”

Tim’s face dropped. “Damn.”

“You scared the shit out us Bradford.”

“Yeah well, being shot isn’t all shits and giggles.”

The group ate, bringing Tim up to speed on the things he had missed as a nurse came in to check on him, glad to find him alert and oriented before she left to notify Dr. Follari.

The group slowly filed out, one by one, making sure Tim knew they would be back by tomorrow. Nyla leaving to pick up Lila, Jackson leaving to meet Sterling, and John leaving due to an early shift the next day, leaving Wesley, Angela, and Lucy in the room as Tim found himself cuddling his favorite and only godchild in his good arm. But soon the infant started becoming restless, being thrown off their routine, the family knew it was time to leave.

“So, boot,” he sighed, embracing the silence of the room as he closed his eyes. “what’d I miss?”

Lucy stared at the man in front of her as she took in a deep breath. “I thought I almost lost you.” Lucy quietly confessed, her hand reaching for his that was laying on the bed before she found herself jumping at the loud knock on the wooden door before it opened once again.

“I hear that my most popular patient is awake.” Dr. Follari said with a smile as he walked into the room, rubbing his hands together, spreading the foam hand sanitizer from the hall.

“Doctor Frankenstein I assume?”

The doctor let out a laugh as he walked over to his bedside. “Not quite, I’m Doctor Follari. How are we feeling Mr. Bradford?”

Tim sighed, taking in as deep a breath that he could. “As good as new I guess.”

“Now, Sergeant Bradford tell me the truth and nothing but the truth.”

“Ha.” Tim glared. “Fine. Everything from the chest up hurts some parts more than others.”

“We’ve been managing your morphine for you, but you will find a switch on the rail that will allow you a certain amount of medicine every couple of hours, hit the button and it will release a dosage to help with the pain.”

“I won’t need it.” He said exasperatedly as Lucy glared at her former training officer. “Often.”

“You will be in control of your pain management, but based on everything you’re telling me, you would be better off using it, at least for the next day or so. Your body has just been through a traumatic experience, it needs to heal and for that to happen you need to rest. Tell me Tim, have you ever had a major surgery like what you just had?”

“Yes.”

“Really?” the doctor said curiously. “It wasn’t in your file.”

“Afghanistan.”

The doctor nodded. “I see. Then, you understand what the coming months will look like.”

“Unfortunately.” He grumbled. “How long will I be out of work?”

“If your recuperation goes well, I will say four and a half months, minimum. And that’s only for desk duty, not field work.”

“And how long will I have to be here?”

“At least two more days, you are running a low-grade fever, so I do not want to take the chances of an infection. Speaking of, I am going to put a limit on how many people can stop by until tomorrow afternoon. Your fiancée is more than welcome to stay but please let the others know that you are not allowed visitors until further notice. Now, let’s check out my handiwork.”

Tim gave Dr. Follari a confused look before glancing at Lucy who had the look of ‘ _just go with it’_ on her face. “Right.” He drew out the word. “How long till I can call my plastic surgeon?”

Lucy rolled her eyes as the Doctor laughed as he moved back Tim’s gown. “Unfortunately, this is not Hollywood.”

Lucy stood to her feet blushing. “I’ll umm… I’ll be back.” She said, walking out of the room.

Twenty minutes later, she walked back in finding Tim attempting to get out of the bed, his legs hanging off as he fumbled with the remote for the TV across the room, flipping through the stations.

“And just what are you doing?” she asked, rushing over.

“I need to get up, there’s things to do, _honey_.”

“Oh, don’t you _honey_ me _babe._ Get back in the bed Tim.”

“I knew you always wanted to get me into bed boot.” He challenged.

Lucy blushed as she glared at him. “Not only are you a fall risk, but you also just had major surgery. And, you almost fucking _died_. So yes, Tim Bradford, you’re going to get your legs back in that bed and you are going to rest, at least for tonight.”

“You make it sound like I’m old Luce.” He joked as he gingerly brought his legs back up, Lucy covering them up. “Look, they gave me socks.” He said, wiggling his toes.

“Did you max out your pain meds?”

“Maybe.” He said wiggling his eyebrows.

Lucy rolled her eyes “You’re cute.”

Tim glared as Lucy pulled out her phone, sending Dr. Follari’s update to the group chat. “I am not cute. If that’s Angela, tell her to bring me some clothes. And Chen?”

Lucy looked up briefly. “Yeah?”

“I’m sorry for scaring you.” He whispered.

Lucy lifted her head quickly, placing her phone on the table. “It’s ok. Payback, right?”

“No, it’s not ok.” He told her. “You love me, right?”

Lucy looked away, biting her lip. Maybe Tim on pain medication was more of a curse than a blessing.

“Lucy?”

Lucy cleared her throat before turning her head back towards him, staring him in the eyes as she talked. “Probably more than I should.”

Tim gave her a droopy smile, extending his right hand as far as his pain would allow. “Good. Then no more stupid shit on the job, for either of us.”

Lucy took his hand, giving him a reassuring squeeze. “It’s what we signed up for. But you were not the one to pull the trigger on yourself Tim, none of this is your fault. We can talk about this in the morning.”

“It is, I should have stayed in the shop and told him to move his ass with the PA.”

Lucy, sensing that he was not about to let this go, strung him along. “Fine. Then by the way you look at things, Caleb taking me was my fault.”

Tim’s tired eyes grew wide. “No! What he did-“

“It was my fault that I wasn’t paying attention to my drink. It was my fault I let myself be drugged.”

“Lucy, that’s not what I’m-“

“No Tim, it is. You sitting here blaming yourself for _something you cannot control_ , is no different than me blaming myself for being drugged and buried by that sociopath.”

Tim stared ahead at the wall in front of him, time passing as he thought about what she was saying. “You’re right. I need to blame him. But, I have to blame myself.”

“I know.” She whispered, running a thumb over his knuckles. “It’s easier that way.”

Tim turned his head. “Can you come around the bed?”

Lucy looked at his quizzically, letting go of his hand as she stood, walking around the bed.

“Sit down, kick off your shoes.” He told her softly. Lucy noticed he had moved over, closer to the right side of the bed, realizing what he was wanting her to do. She moved towards the door, flipping the switch on the wall as the room grew darker than before, save for the light above the bed. She crossed back to the bed, taking a seat on the edge, toeing off her shoes before she laid down on the bed beside him.

“You can’t be comfortable.” She said as she took his left hand, holding it with her right as she carefully moved, cuddling into his side.

“I’m fine Luce.” He told her, his eyes feeling heavy as the hours he had been awake caught up with him. He moved his head down, pain be damned as he placed a lingering kiss to the top of her head. “A little hungry if I’m being honest but I can’t eat until in the morning.”

“Ok.” She whispered. “You’d tell me if you weren’t, right? Just push me out if the bed if it-“

“Get some sleep boot.” He mumbled, smiling as he closed his eyes, sleep coming easily.

Nurses coming in and out through the night woke Lucy up, unable to turn off the ‘always watch your surroundings’ part of her training as Tim stayed asleep, the large dose of pain meds keeping him asleep. Though she woke often, she never strayed from his side.

“Morning.” He mumbled, opening his eyes. “What time is it?”

Lucy, who he noticed had changed clothes, was back in the chair beside the bed. “A few past eight.” She told him standing, putting the book in her hand onto the table as she moved to the windowsill.

“Is that a word search book Chen? And you call Nolan old.” Teased Tim.

Lucy turned around, raising the bag now in her hand. “I could keep this bag of clothes over here and not give them to you.”

“Angela brought me clothes?” He asked, his face lighting up.

“I met her downstairs on her way in an hour ago.” She told him, bringing the bag over to the bed so he could choose what to wear. “Let me go get a nurse.”

“I don’t need a nurse. I think I can change clothes by myself.”

Lucy looked away blushing. “You have a catheter.”

“Oh.” He said, realizing he had forgotten that particular detail. “Yeah umm, can you go get a nurse please?”

Lucy nodded, leaving the room, a nurse coming in a few minutes after. She removed the catheter, before helping him change into the more comfortable clothing Angela had brought, careful as they worked around his injuries and the tubes still in his arm.

Ten minutes later, Lucy opened the door, a tray in hand.

“I brought you food.” She said, sitting the tray down onto the rolling table, pushing over the bed.

“This does not look like food.” He complained, observing the variety laid out in front of him.

“The nurse said you’re on a clear liquid diet which means you can have all the broth, jello, popsicles and Gatorade you want.”

“What I want is a steak from that place on 5th.”

“Too bad. Now drink, the detectives will be here soon.”

Tim flashed her a sarcastic smile. “Thanks babe.”

Lucy glared, picking up her book of words, opening it up to where she left off.

“You’re going to have to tell me what that was all about by the way.”

Lucy shrugged. “They wouldn’t let me back so I found a way.”

“And that meant pretending we’re engaged?”

“Like I said, found a way. You complaining?”

Tim softly smiled, shaking his head as he shoved bite of jello in his mouth.

“Did they give someone my belongings?”

Lucy looked up, running the back end of the pen over her lip. “They cut your uniform off of you and your duty belt was secured and returned with your body cam to the detectives. The rest I put in your duffle a few minutes ago, your phone is on my charger.” She said, reaching onto the bedside table, handing him his phone.

Tim took the device, scrolling through the mass of messages and notifications. “When did you take this?” he asked, gesturing to the picture he had enlarged on his phone, the image coming from the group chat.

“Last night, you were completely out of it.” She snickered.

“Damn it Chen, please tell me this was sent to no one else.”

“Why? Don’t want anyone to know big bad Bradford has a soft side?”

“Lucy… Please?”

“Don’t worry Tim. It’s for our friends’ eyes only. Besides, my personal favorite is still on my phone.” She told him with a wink.

Tim’s face dropped. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Lucy winked. “Maybe I’ll show you one day.”

Tim was about to interrogate her when a knock sounded on the door, Detectives Hall and Preese walking in.

“Hello boys.”

“Sergeant Bradford.” Detective Grayson Hall said, glancing at the other occupant of the room. “Officer Chen? We didn’t realize you had company.”

“Long story.” Tim said brushing the statement off, using his good arm to sit up better in the bed. “So, where shall we start?”

The next two hours were spent with Tim recounting the night from two days ago, answering their questions and asking some of his own as Lucy worked on a few puzzles until boredom set in, deciding to play on her phone for a while before making her way around the hospital, stretching her legs.

When she reentered the room, the two detectives had left and Tim was laying back, his head against the bed as his eyes were closed, a movie playing on the TV in the corner.

“Hey.”

Tim opened his eyes, letting out a sigh. “Hey.”

“They get everything they needed.”

“Hope so.” He told her turning his head. “You missed it, I tried walking to the bathroom.”

Lucy raised an eyebrow. “I bet that was an experience.”

“It was. Fairly sure my insides were about to fall out. What’s in the cup?”

Lucy handed over the cup she had snuck in. “I had Jackson swing by on his lunch break, he brought me some lunch and you, a frosty.”

“Thanks.”

Lucy smiled at him before her grin dropped as she looked at the vitals on the monitor next to the bed. “Your temperatures went up a little.”

“What can I say boot, I’m hot.” He told her with a smirk, shoveling in a spoonful of ice cream.

“You might be getting an infection.”

Tim rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry Chen, according to nurse Madison, they’ve put me on a stronger antibiotic.”

“You know, I think you’re an even bigger pain in my ass than before.”

Tim waved a hand, taking another bite of ice cream. “After two years you should be used to it by now.”

Lucy laughed, noticing as he drummed his fingers on the cup. “You up for a walk?”

“Not really.”

“You need to walk Tim, surely nurse _Madison_ told you about throwing blood clots.”

“We’ll have to take it slow.” He told her after a moment, placing his cup down, throwing the covers off his legs. “I feel like everything inside has been rearranged.”

“You had a major surgery; they probably did move somethings around.”

Lucy walked to his side, standing in front of him, both of them grasping onto the other’s arms as Tim placed both feet on the ground, standing.

Tim let go of her right arm, reaching out for the IV pole as he slid his left hand into hers, taking careful and small steps across the room towards the door as he grimaced, his stiches pulling ever so slightly with each step.

“You ok?” She asked as they entered the hallway.

“Yep.”

The two made their way towards the nurses station, stopping for a break at the desk before turning around and returning to the room where Lucy helped him back into bed, Tim letting out a deep sigh, closing his eyes as his body relaxed back into the foam.

“Lucy?”

“Yeah?” she said, sitting back down in the chair next to the bed, reaching for the book on the nightstand as the heart rate monitor attached to Tim began to pick up speed.

“I think… I think I’m falling for you and it scares me shitless.”

Lucy let out a chuckle, reaching for his right hand on the bed. “So, let me catch you.”

Tim gave her a sleepy smile, intertwining his fingers with hers as she opened her book, starting on the next puzzle in the book. Somethings in life are simpler than others, choosing what to wear or what to eat, whereas other things in life are more difficult, especially when it comes to making a life changing decision. But Lucy Chen knew as she sat there, holding the hand of the man who trained her, that the decision she was about to make, would be the greatest of her life.


End file.
